


Chasing The White Rabbit

by Prophetandprincess



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:00:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7825849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prophetandprincess/pseuds/Prophetandprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ace never expected the night that she enters a biker bar in the middle of nowhere that she is going to run into Sam and Dean Winchester, two people she met as a child. While they don't exactly remember who she is, she could never forget them. As the night progresses, Ace decides that maybe meeting Sam when he is all grown up is good for more than just a walk down memory lane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing The White Rabbit

“You cheated,” the city boy screamed at Ace as she collected up the winnings they had pinned to the dart board at the start of the game. She hadn’t even bothered to learn his name. Carver, Carter, Cranberry? Something like that. He was on a road trip with his buddies and came into the bar for the novelty. Easy to take for a good bit of money.

“Honey, if this was cards, you might be right,” Ace smiled as she folded the bills and stuffed them into the strap of her bra, “but I never cheat at darts because I don’t need to. You know what, here, go get yourself a beer and drown your sorrows.”

Pulling out one of the ten dollar bills that she had just won from him, Ace put it in his shirt pocket with a smile. She patted him once on the cheek before walking over to pull the darts out of the board. He had come with two other friends, meaning they could easily be her next victim.

“You fucking cheated and I want my money back,” city boy walked up behind her and reached around, trying to grab the wad of cash, but only getting her chest, “and you’re going to give it to me.”

“Like hell,” Ace elbowed him in the chest and gave him a shove, since he wasn’t worth a right hook. City boy didn’t see the two large men walk up behind him, fire in their eyes. Ace straightened her clothes while city boy cursed at her. He moved forward, but two hands came down on his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. Maverick and Preacher pulled the man by his shirt to the nearest table and smashed him down on it, face first.

“You weren’t getting handsy with our girl now, were you?” Maverick asked, his golden tooth sparking in the dim bar. He had a rather soft voice for a six foot two, two hundred and fifty pound African-American. Ace didn’t know his real name, just like all of the people that she rode with, but he was rather fond of her. Maverick said that Ace reminded him of a prostitute that he used to know back in Chicago. He never told her more than that and she didn’t ask.

“That cheating little bitch-” city boy started.

Ace shook her head as Maverick twisted the city boy’s arm painfully behind his back, causing him to curse so he couldn’t finish his statement. No one in the bar even looked toward the scene, even his two buddies who were staring intently into the bottom of their beer glasses. This was nothing that the regulars of this bar hadn’t seen a million times before. Biker bars weren’t known for easy going clientele. The fact that no one had pulled a gun or a knife yet was probably rather novel. The bartender had a shotgun behind the bar if things got out of hand, Ace was almost positive, but she tried to keep her group’s anger under wraps. They didn’t need any trouble with the law since most of them were on the run from the police in one way or another.

“Now I want you to listen to me very closely,” Preacher leaned forward so that his lips were right against the man’s ear, “we are going to let go of you, you are going to square up your tab at the bar, and you’re going to leave. If you don’t do everything in exactly that order without making a scene, I suggest that you confess your sins to me right now, my son.”

Preacher was an ordained minister from San Francisco whose church got closed down when the congregation became too small and the neighborhood too rough. The Angels of Mercy just happened to be in the city and he just happened to have a bike. Ace instantly liked him and he fit right in with the little band of misfits. He was one of the voices of reason in the group. Ace needed all the help she could get.

“Tip the bartender,” Maverick whispered. Maverick let go of the boy and city boy spun around to say something smart. However, as soon as he got a look at who was holding him, he snapped his mouth shut and did exactly what he was told.

“I can’t leave you alone for more than five minutes, can I?” Maverick asked as he slung his arm over Ace’s shoulder, her knees buckling a little under the weight. “Why didn’t you deck that little rat? You could have laid him out no sweat.”

“Not worth the effort Mav, not worth the effort. You two go back to the skirts at the bar you were chasing.” Ace smiled at him and gave him a pat on the arm. Maverick and Preacher looked her over before going back to the two women in leather skirts that were watching the boys’ beers. Preacher never took anyone home, Maverick was known to take multiple people home in one night.

Ace’s position in the group was unique, she was a respected member and everyone’s little sister at the same time. She liked it though, it was nice to have a family that loved her because they wanted to, not because they were bound to by blood. Her position was probably helped that she didn’t sleep with any of the members, usually. A girl has needs.

After a few rounds of darts by herself with no one taking her up on a game, she walked over to Viper. He was sitting at the bar by himself, which was novel, with a stool open beside him. Viper joined the Angels of Mercy at sixteen and Ace was the only member of the group that had been around longer. Between the two of them, they were the closest thing that group had to unofficial leaders. The Angels of Mercy at any time ranged between 15 and 30 members. Some were pretty stable, like Maverick and Preacher, others came and went or were only with them for a couple of months, like Nightshade.

“No luck with the ladies tonight, Viper?” Ace gave him a playful nudge as she took the empty bar stool and motioned for a beer.

“None of them piqued my interest, besides everyone has decided to be difficult tonight,” Viper gave her a pointed look before motioning his head over her shoulder. “That guy is hustling Carmen out of most of his money.”

“Oh? How drunk is Carmen?” Ace laughed before taking a swig of beer. She turned around in her seat to take in the game and challenger. The man playing Carmen was about six foot tall with short spiky brown hair and a cocky grin. She couldn’t hear what he was saying to Carmen, but Carmen didn’t look pleased. There was a nice stack of money on the edge of the table. Cocky grin probably pretended to be drunk the first game, totally bombed, and then called for a double or nothing game. It was a classic move, one Alex had used herself more than once before.

“Drunk enough to make some trouble,” Viper sighed as he finished his beer. Ace agreed, knowing that Carmen wouldn’t have fallen for such an easy ploy if he was anything less than smashed.

“Make sure that he doesn’t rough up Smiles too bad, he is nice to look at. And no knives this time! I lost all my winnings in damages last time. Though Smiles looks like he can hold his own,” Ace said over her shoulder as she continued to watch the game. Smiles was a looker, green eyes and a confident swagger. However, there was also something about him that was oddly familiar, almost as if she had met him before. That wasn’t a face that she would easily forget. It was almost like a dream you couldn’t remember, something familiar and yet unfamiliar.

There was another person watching the game, a tall man in the corner booth on a laptop. He would look up every once and a while to take a swig of beer, keeping an eye on things. He had one long leg on the booth seat opposite him and a few empties around the computer. Ace wouldn’t have even paid him any attention if it wasn’t for the computer. It was odd that he was using this bar to get work done. The lighting was atrocious, it smelled like stale smoke and beer, and this man was obviously not a biker. Once again, Ace was hit with the feeling that she had seen him before, something about the quirk of his mouth, or maybe his eyes. Much like the guy playing pool, he had a face she was sure she would recognize if she’d seen it before. Yet, there was this feeling…

“Here we go,” Viper murmured as he finished his beer, drawing Ace’s attention back to the game. Smiles had just sunk the eight ball and Carmen looked like he was about to spontaneously combusted.

Carmen was an alright guy, though he had a temper, which flared when he was drunk. He had gotten his name for the tattoo that was always displayed prominently on his bicep, no matter the weather. He never told any of them who Carmen was and no one asked. That tattoo was currently bulging as Carmen grabbed the challenger’s leather jacket, calling him rather unflattering names.

“Ah, Hell.” Viper slid off his bar stool as the challenger shoved off Carmen and decked him.

Ace didn’t move, but other Angels that were in the bar did, converging on the scuffle. Ace was on the only one that saw the tall man in the corner booth get up and move to help the challenger. Ghost knew when he grabbed onto his jacket and tossed him over the pool table. However, it was two against eight and while the challengers got some good hits in, it didn’t take long until they were both bent over the pool table.

“You are going to do something about this, aren’t you?” Preacher asked Ace as she continued to drink her beer, crossing her legs.

“You think I need to? Viper is over there handling things.” The two men were still struggling, which was never a good idea. However, it wasn’t uncommon.

“Evil thrives when good men do nothing,” Preacher said, plucking the beer bottle from her hands.

“Don’t quote the Bible at me,” Ace grumbled as she slid off the barstool.

“It’s Burke, actually,” Preacher smiled at her. At that moment, the taller one, kicked Viper hard. That was definitely never a good idea. Viper’s eyes turned dark and slammed the tall man’s head into the pool table.

“Alright,” Ace raised her voice of the din in the bar as she walked over to the pool table, “that is not necessary Viper. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to stand behind an angry horse? You’ll get kicked.”

“Now is not the time for your country wisdom, Ace,” Viper huffed, as he pushed down harder on the taller man’s neck.

“You get your hands off my brother right now before I rip them off,” Smiles growled, no longer smiling. He was trying to get Maverick and King off his back, literally. They two men combined weighed over four hundred pounds, so it wasn’t going well. Ace almost felt bad for him.

“Dean, shut up,” the taller one huffed. He was having a little more luck getting away from T-Bone and Warlock, but Viper was making it his personal mission to be difficult. Ace needed to take care of this before Viper’s temper got out of hand. Talking to Viper would do little at this point. Ghost had gotten to his feet and slunk away before anyone ragged on him for being tossed like a rag doll. He was one of the youngest of the group, just turning twenty-one, and already got enough flak from everyone else.

“Carmen, what have I told you about playing nice with others?” Ace turned toward him and put her blood red nails under his chin to turn his head toward her. His lip was split, blood spilling down onto his chin, but he’d live. He’d had much worse.

“They started it,” Carmen pouted, making more blood dribble out of the cut. He knew that he was in trouble with Ace. You never wanted to be in trouble with Ace.

“Bullshit,” Dean shouted, which got him a shot to the ribs from King.

“Just shut the hell up, Dean.” The taller one fought against Warlock, T-Bone, and Viper. It was useless, but it showed that he had spirit.

Ace looked at them all, one eyebrow raised, until everything settled back down. Then she turned her blue eyes back to Carmen, waiting until he met her eye. She smacked him hard in the back of the head.

“You know better than to lie to me, Carmen. Don’t let it happen again.” Ace turned away from him before getting his answer. It was going to happen again, all of the Angels knew it, but Ace liked saying it. Nightshade came over and took Carmen over to the bar to put some ice on his lip. The two of them had been sleeping together since Nightshade joined the group. It was none of Ace’s business, but she didn’t like it.

“Now,” Ace walked over and looked down at the two men on the pool table, “What are we going to do with you two?”

“I know what I’d like for you to do to me,” Dean gave her an irresistible smile. Ace couldn’t help but smile back at him and give him a little wink. That surprised him a bit. You had to give something to a man that would flirt while pushed against a pool table by two huge men.

“Really, Dean?” The taller muttered, watching the two of them.

“I’m handling it, Sam,” he muttered.

That caught Ace’s attention. Sam and Dean, both brothers. It couldn’t be…There was no way after all these years.

“Sam and Dean? Sam and Dean Winchester?” Ace bent at the waist so that she could look the boys in the face. Now that she knew Dean’s name, she knew why he seemed so familiar to her earlier. Sam was a bit harder. His hair was longer and he had filled into his long scrawny arms and chicken legs very well, but the eyes were the same. He had grown up well.

“Wait, you know these two?” Juliette sauntered over now that everything was taken care of, her eyes only on Dean. “You’ve been holding out on me, Ace. I thought we were friends.”

“I don’t like to share,” Ace smirked as she waved at Maverick, T-Bone, King, Viper, and Warlock to let Sam and Dean up. “Though, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen the two of them.”

“Sweetheart, trust me. If I had known you, I’d remember it,” Dean said, rubbing his cheek where he had been punched. Maverick put his hand heavily on Dean’s shoulder, but Ace shook her head a little to show that it was alright.

“I’m not your sweetheart, and it’s been quite a few years. Don’t worry that you have no idea who I am.” Ace looked over to Sam again. Now that he was standing, he was a lot taller. What was he? Six-four?

“Good, cause I don’t,” Dean said to try and get the woman’s attention back while he straightened his leather jacket. She was five foot six with black hair streaked with electric blue and neon pink, tattoos up both arms, and fingers covered in rings. She was something that he would remember. The tight black tank top and jeans were not leaving a lot to imagination, and he would have remembered that figure.

“What do you want us to do with them Ace?” King asked as Viper continued to glare at Sam, who was a good five inches taller than he was. The rest of the group was looking at her as well, a little confused. Ace had never once admitted to knowing anyone, let alone someone from her past.

“You are not going to do anything to them,” Ace clarified. “Dean is going to buy Carmen a shot and a beer with his winnings for the right hook and all will be forgotten.” Ace spoke loud enough so that Carmen could hear her at the bar. He looked at her for a long moment, but then just nodded in agreement.

“Hell, I’ll buy the whole bar a round,” Dean said good-naturedly, which got all the guys smiling, “but how do you know who we are?”

“There is time for that later,” Ace waved for him to go off and make good on his promise at buying a round. He did, catching Juliette’s eye. Juliette was looking at Dean like the latest Coach bag.

Juliette chose the name because she joined the Angels of Mercy after her ex-boyfriend killed her current girlfriend and then came after Juliette. She turned a knife on the ex, and then left with the bikers before the police found the body. She was also known for loving them and leaving them, though they were still breathing and satisfied when she did. Ace almost felt bad for Dean if Juliette had her sights set on him.

Ace turned her attention to Sam, who was looking at Ace as if he had the same feeling she did earlier. A tickling of recollection at the base of his skull. Hazel eyes looking her over. Those eyes really were the same.

*  
  
_“Dean,” the smaller of the two boys whispered, “Dean, don’t. We’re going to get caught. We still have some money.”  
  
“Sammy, quiet,” Dean snapped as he slipped the box of tooth paste and tooth brushes into his leather jacket pocket. “We need to use the last of the money dad left us for food. We don’t know when he’ll be back, and you eat more than a horse.”  
  
“Do not,” the smaller boy snapped.  
  
Alice was watching them through the shop shelves, pretending to flip through the newest Mad magazine. The reason they had caught her attention in the first place was because she knew everyone in town, there weren’t that many people, and she didn’t know these two boys. She had almost been pulled toward them like they had a gravitational force when they walked into the store, she was that desperate to talk to someone her own age. To talk to anyone who didn’t know who she was, who her father was. No one that lived in this desert town would talk to her any more.  
  
“What do you two think you’re doing?” Mr. Harris, the owner of the store, asked as he walked over. No one in the town liked Mr. Harris and Mr. Harris didn’t like anyone. He especially didn’t like children. Harris thought all children were thieves and watched them like a hawk in the store. Alice could have kicked herself for not saying something to the boys, but she was too scared to speak to them. Talking to people her own age never worked out for her.  
  
“What do you think you’re doing?” Dean turned and looked at the older man, fire in his eyes. Sam looked from his brother, up to the man, and then back at his brother. His fingers drummed against his legs while Dean continued to stare at the store owner.  
  
“I asked what you think you’re doing. Turn out your pockets you little scamp,” Mr. Harris snapped, pushing his glasses up his nose.  
  
“Listen man, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Dean snapped back. Sam reached out his hand and laid it on his brother sleeve. Dean shook it off as he took a step forward to square off with Mr. Harris even though he was some inches shorter than the store owner.  
  
“Turn out your pockets, you little thief.” Mr. Harris reached out and grabbed Dean’s shoulders, but Dean shoved him off.  
  
“Touch me again and we’re going to have a problem,” Dean threatened. He might have been about a foot shorter than Mr. Harris, but he was squared up like a boxer. Alice watched boxing a lot, her father would leave it on the television when he passed out on the couch. He would scream at her if she changed the channel, so she got used to watching it. She wondered what it would be like to have that power, to have people cheering her name. She already knew what it was like to take hits and stay standing.  
  
Mr. Harris had always been mean to her, telling her she was no good just like her parents. Most people didn’t like her father, but Mr. Harris had a more personal reason. It wasn’t Alice’s fault that her father drove his car into the front of Mr. Harris’s store two years ago, giving the older man a slight limp. He would follow her around the store when she came in, to the point that she would hold out her money for candy when she entered the store. However, his candy was cheaper here than at the chain grocery store further in town.  
  
It was a split second decision. Alice reached through the shelf and very quickly pulled the tooth paste and tooth brush from Dean’s jacket. She reached behind her back and shoved the items into the white bunny backpack she always wore. Mr. Harris said that she couldn’t take it off her back when she was in the store so that she couldn’t slip something into it. She had never thought about stealing before that moment.  
  
“I said turn out your pockets!” Mr. Harris grabbed Dean and shook him by the shoulders. Then he let go of Dean and reached into his pockets himself while Alice slid out of the store. She hid herself behind the ice machine and waited for the boys to come out. The heat was oppressive, even this early in the afternoon. None of the businesses bothered with maintaining grass in the desert, so it was all rocks and sand, brown on brown on brown.  
  
“If I see you in my store again, I’ll call the police,” Mr. Harris screamed. Alice peeked around the ice machine as Dean and Sam stumbled out of the store.  
  
“Like anyone would want to come into your crummy store anyway!” Dean called back as Mr. Harris closed the door behind him.  
  
“Come on Dean, let’s just go back to the room,” Sam said as he kicked a rock on the curb. His cheeks were bright pink and it was obvious that the whole thing had embarrassed him. Dean was muttering under his breath and straightening his leather jacket, ignoring his brother’s request.  
  
“You need a new toothbrush, Sammy, and we both need toothpaste. It’s a small town, but there is probably another grocery store. Come on,” Dean smacked his brother on his back and started across the parking lot.  
  
Alice grabbed the items out of her bag and moved out from behind the ice machine, making both boys jump. Dean looked as if he was about to clock her and Sam dropped down into a fighting stance. Her eyes got wide and she shied away from both boys. She had her fair share of beating, from a good number of people, and wasn’t looking for another one.  
  
“Who the hell are you?” Dean asked, only slightly relaxing when he saw it was a skinny girl around Sam’s age. His father had always taught him to never underestimate an opponent, no matter what they looked like. However, this girl looked rather pitiful.  
  
“Here,” Alice thrust the tooth paste and tooth brushes out toward them, avoiding their eyes. Through her lashes she saw Dean looked a little impressed and Sam look completely astonished, but Sam was smiling.  
  
“How did you-” Dean started, but then he stopped. He reached out and grabbed the items and shoved them into his jacket pocket. There was something weird about the girl, how she was acting, and dressed.  
  
“I reached through the shelves when Mr. Harris wasn’t looking,” Alice looked up at him for a moment, but when he looked at her, she looked away. “I figured you wouldn’t be stealing it if you didn’t really need it and I hate the fuzzy feeling after not brushing your teeth in the morning.”  
  
“Thank you and I hate that feeling too,” Sam said with a smile. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Sam, we shouldn’t be talking to strangers,” Dean said as he looked Alice over again. Her black hair was long and obviously cut with scissors, her clothing ill-fitting and obviously old, and she couldn’t met their eyes. It also wasn’t lost on him that she was wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants, in the middle of the desert. True, Dean was wearing a leather jacket, but that was for his look. Why had the girl chosen this outfit?  
  
“And we shouldn’t be drawing attention to ourselves either, but you tried to pick a fight with a shop owner,” Sam said back, glaring up at his brother. “I’m Sam, and this is my older brother Dean. Now we’re no longer strangers.”  
  
Sam stuck his hand out to her, smiling brightly. Alice looked at the hand for a moment, wondering if this was going to be a joke. That had happened before. The boys in her class were so mean. The girls weren’t much better. However, when she finally looked at Sam’s face, though not in the eye, and didn’t see any malice in his expression.  
  
“I’m Alice,” she said tentatively as she took his hand, embarrassed at the dirt under her nails. “Are you on vacation?”  
  
“Why do you ask?” Dean cut in. Sam was still so trusting, so kind, it almost broke his heart… But, it also made him happy. At least he was doing something right in protecting his brother, but maybe it was a disservice to Sam. He still couldn’t figure out which it was.  
  
“Dean,” Sam whined at his brother while he rolled his eyes, “Our dad is doing a job in the area and we are tagging along.”  
  
“That must be fun.” Alice had never been out of the small desert town. She had read books about places in the mountains that got snow every year, places that got rain more than twice a year, and that had animals just roaming around. What she wouldn’t give to be anywhere but here. She didn’t care where, Siberia would work, just anywhere.  
  
“Fun,” Dean spit out the word and shook his head. “Come on Sammy. Meet and greet is over. We have to get back to the room before dad gets back.”  
  
Suddenly, Alice felt as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs. What had she expected, that she would help them by stealing something and they would want to be her friend? That it would be more than just a simple conversation. Hadn’t she done everything possible to have people in this town be her friend, but because of her father she was a pariah. Why would these two be any different? She was doomed to be alone.  
  
“Thank you, again,” Sam let go of Alice’s hand and smiled. “It was nice to meet you.”  
  
“You too, both of you,” Alice spared a look to Dean, who was watching his brother.  
  
“Yeah, thanks,” Dean muttered, looking over at her. “Come on, Sam. Let’s go.” He started down the street without looking back to see if his brother was following. It was obvious that he expected to be obeyed.  
  
“We’re staying at the Starlight Motel, it has a pool. Dean will probably go out later with my dad, you should come and swim with me after dinner.” Sam spoke so quickly that it was almost one word.  
  
“Sammy, come on!” Dean called, already halfway down the street.  
  
“We’re in room 502,” Sam said with a smile. “Please come, it’s going to be lonely all by myself.”  
  
“Sam now!” Dean screamed.  
  
Alice was so surprised that she hadn’t said anything the whole time Sam asked her to come and hang out with him. It wasn’t like she had experience with this. Sam gave her one last look before running down the street to catch up with his brother. Dean slung his arm around his baby brother’s shoulder, pulling him close to his side. Alice watched them until they were out of sight, a huge smile on her face.  
  
Sam was the first person to ever invite her to do anything.  
  
_ *  
  
“So, how do you know who we are again?” Dean asked as he brought beers over to the corner booth that Sam had been working before the fight. He had closed the computer and slid it into his bag when they sat down, but hadn’t said anything to Ace. His eyes had been roaming over her, not the same ways his brother had, though his gaze did linger on a few of her tattoos. Sam was trying to figure out who she was. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit that he didn’t know who she was.  
  
“It was a long time ago, we were all still kids,” Ace leaned back and put her boots up on the table. “Speaking of which, how’s John doing? Actually, I’m surprised he’s not with you. This seems like exactly his sort of place.”  
  
The way that the brother’s looked at each other made it the answer obvious. Ace felt the loss before Sam opened his mouth. However, she also noticed that both shifted in their seats and their hands move toward the small of their backs. They were carrying guns. It seemed like the boys had gotten up to some things in all those years they were apart. Then again, Ace had a knife in each boot and her gun was out with her bike. She decided that it was better not to bring it into the bar. Besides, she knew each member of her group that did bring one in. Juliette was one of them, thigh holster.  
  
“He died, some years ago,” Sam said slowly, looking down at his beer bottle.  
  
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Ace actually meant it. John wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy when she knew him for that short amount of time, and totally not nurturing, but she was pretty sure he saved her life. If it wasn’t for John, she might have died a long time ago. It was true that the life she had now wasn’t for everyone, sometimes it wasn’t even for her, but it was a life, it was hers, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.  
  
“Are you at least going to tell us your name? Or do you want us to guess?” Sam’s voice looked up from his beer bottle, a little smirk on his face. His hazel eyes were looking at her face now, expecting a little tidbit of information, yearning for just one small clue.  
  
Ace took a sip of her beer to make him sweat a bit. His voice and manner were so different than his brother, but it was easy to see that they were related, if that made sense. Their differences were most evident in the fight earlier. Dean was showman in most things that he did, loud, bold, ready to be the center of attention at all times. Ace had seen under that façade before once, but that was how Dean had always approached the world. Sam was much more reserved, calculating, but no less bold. Dean was a cheetah, he would chase down his prey until all his energy was spent. Sam was a panther, waiting in the shadows for the moment to strike, conserving his energy for the kill.  
  
“I go by Ace these days,” she finally said, enjoying the game, “but none of us go by our real names in my band of merry men. Keeps us all on an equal playing field.”  
  
“Let me guess, running from the cops?” Dean smirked a little and rolled his eyes as he took a swig of his beer.  
  
“And two boys in a biker bar with guns in their jeans aren’t? Honestly Dean, you’ve been a criminal from the moment I met you. Actually, you turned me into one too, on the behalf of both of you. Don’t play coy,” Ace smirked back, enjoying how flustered they both got when she said that.  
  
“How did you know about the guns?” Dean leaned forward.  
  
“Who are you?” Sam mimicked his brother’s posture.  
  
“You have a tell - maybe we should play cards together sometime,” Ace said to Dean, ignoring Sam’s question. She had always been a fan of cat and mouse games. From all her time on the road, if there was one thing that she had become good at reading, it was people. It made it easy to see who to stay away from and easy to see who to take for all their money in a game of darts.  
  
“Why don’t you come back to my room and we can play together all you want,” Dean smirked at her while Sam glared. Ace laughed at that, tipping her head back. If there was one thing Dean didn’t seem to lack with women, it was confidence. Then again, he was always rather self-assured when she knew him. Ace took her boots off the table and leaned forward.  
  
“Sweetheart, I’d eat you alive,” Ace winked before she turned her attention back to Sam. “It is boring if I just tell you who I am, that’s no fun. Ask me a question, other than my name?”  
  
“What’s your number,” Dean said before Sam could open his mouth. Ace shook her head and leaned forward.  
  
“Alright, I’ll start since neither of you seem to know how to play. What happened to the necklace that you always used to wear?” Ace asked Dean. It was an odd little amulet, golden with a face on it, on the end of a black cord. She had been too scared to ask him about it as a child. He was so tall, and older than her, and imposing. She could barely look him in the eye.  
  
Now her blue eyes were looking right into his green ones. She watched them sharpen at the mention of the necklace, the smile slipping off of his face. He didn’t seem to like the fact that she apparently knew something about him. His fingers twitched toward his gun again. She did not doubt that they were in the same grey area of the law that Ace inhibited.  
  
“I lost it,” Dean said slowly.  
  
“How old were you when we met?” Sam asked.  
  
“Eight and a half, if you wanted to be technical.” Ace leaned back and looked him over. “Do you still have your imaginary friend? Sully, I think his name was.”  
  
It was Sam’s turn to look at her as if she was a threat. He leaned away from her, hand on the table, looking her over once again. Ace’s appearance was not one that would be easy to forget, let alone her entourage. She was obviously the leader of the group, or at least respected. Had John saved her when she was a kid? But then how did she know about Sully if she had only met John?  
  
“No, Sully left a while ago,” Sam finally answered. The two brothers looked at each other, neither sure who this woman was.  
  
“What were we hunting when we met you?” Dean asked.  
  
“Hunting?” That made Ace pause and looked between them. “It was the middle of the desert. Unless you were taking out coyotes, there was nothing to hunt.”  
  
“So, you know us and our dad, but it wasn’t because of a hunt?” Dean looked completely at a loss again. Ace was a little taken back as well. They didn’t look like the type to go trekking through the woods looking for a buck, even if they were both wearing plaid. Hunters didn’t carry pistols at the small of their backs and stumble into biker bars. What the hell had these boys gotten themselves into? She thought joining a biker gang trumped everything, but apparently not.  
  
“What exactly do you two hunt, besides women?” Ace added that last point as Dean opened his mouth with that look on his face.  
  
“Is that your question?” Sam asked her, a little smirk on his face.  
  
“Damn, I guess so,” Ace laughed. Sam leaned forward as if he was going to tell her a secret, looking out into the bar to see if anyone was watching. Of course, people were. Viper had been watching the table like a hawk since Ace had sat down and Maverick also cast a glance toward them now and again. Sam met Viper’s eye for a second and gave him a little shrug.  
  
“Don’t leave me in suspense,” Ace leaned forward too, so that there was only a little space between them. She could smell his after-shave - she had no idea what it was, but it smelled fantastic, even mixed with stale smoke and beer.  
  
“Things that go bump in the night,” Sam winked and then leaned back. Ace laughed and shook her head, hiding the fact that she was blushing a little at the wink. Sam wasn’t as up front as his brother, but he could turn on the charm just as easily.  
  
“That is a shit answer, but I’ll let it pass. Your turn,” Ace looked Sam over again, letting her eyes linger on him so that he noticed. He wasn’t the only one that could make someone flustered.  
  
“How long did we know you? Did we go to school together?” Sam asked. Dean had leaned back in the booth seat, watching the two of them. It was rare that Sam intentionally flirted with a girl and he didn’t want to get in the way. Besides, he had caught sight of Juliette watching him from the bar and those looks made it obvious she would be willing to flirt with him. He was hoping she would want to do a bit more.  
  
“I’m going to go get us another round,” Dean said as he tapped Sam’s shoulder to let him out of the booth. He was also going to go chat with Juliette, see if he was going to have any luck with her. He and Sam might have to rock-paper-scissors for the hotel room.  
  
“That’s two questions,” Ace pointed out when Sam settled back down, “but I’ll answer both. We didn’t go to school together and it was only two and a half days.”  
  
“And you remember who we are? We really must have left an impression.” Sam pointed out, but it was obvious that he was still confused.  
  
“You have no idea. Did you ever get another copy of _The Outsiders_? I kind of stole your copy, though I didn’t mean to,” Ace tilted her head to the side. This was the moment of truth, to see if he would really remember her or not. It worried her a little that her heart sped up in anticipation. It was going to hurt her if he didn’t remember her, though she told herself that she didn’t care.  
  
Sam’s brow furrowed for a moment and then recognition dawned on his face. She could have sworn she saw the light bulb appear over his head. His eyes lit up and he looked even more attractive, if that was possible.  
  
“Alice,” Sam’s voice was soft and held a little bit of awe. Honestly, the fact that he remembered her name made her smile wide.  
  
“Like I said, I go mostly by Ace now, but that is how you knew me back at the Starlight Motel.” Ace tried not so show how touched she was that he remembered not only her but her name. After all, they had only known each other for two days while they were kids.  
  
“How did you…I…You look different,” Sam finally said, obviously flustered and confused. His eyes were roaming over her again and she could see when his eyes landed on something he remembered, her eyes or her lips. He genuinely seemed amazed that she was sitting there across from her. She knew the feeling. That was how she felt when she saw them on the pool table.  
  
“Here is another round, what did I miss?” Dean asked as he slid back into the booth. Juliette had asked him to play a game of pool, but he wanted to know who this girl was. He saw the look on Sam’s face and looked at Ace quickly, wondered what happened.  
  
“This is Alice, the girl with the white rabbit backpack that stole the toothbrush and toothpaste from that convenience store,” Sam’s voice still had a daydreaming quality to it. He really didn’t know what to say to her. He had a vague recollection of her, he remembered sitting by the pool and then the night after when she arrived at the door in a panic. He remembered giving her his book and realizing that when they left town that he never got it back.  
  
“Okay…” Dean said, obviously not remembering her. “I’m going to play a game of pool if you need me Sammy.”  
  
“He still calls you Sammy?” Ace asked once he had left, feeling a little embarrassed by the way that Sam was looking at her. “Even though you are taller than him?”  
  
“Old habits,” Sam seemed to snap out of his trance and come back to himself a little. However, he didn’t seem to know what to say to her. There was twenty-something years between now and the last time that they had talked. The words and questions were all fighting to get out of his mouth, which kept him silent.  
  
“So, how have you been?” Ace finally asked as she smiled at Sam.  
  
*  
  
_The sun was turning the horizon red when Alice pushed open the rusted wrought iron gate that lead into the Starlight Motel pool area. At first, she thought Sam had done what everyone else in the town had. Pretended to be her friend just to make fun of her and then never followed through on their plans. The tears were forming in her eyes when she caught sight of a shadow at the far end of the pool, legs kicking in the pool.  
  
There was another reason that she had been worried about coming to the motel at sunset. People had been disappearing from the town, just a few, but when there weren’t a lot of people to begin with, it drew attention. Some said that they got lost in the desert, or just left town. Other’s thought that there was a serial killer in town.  
  
“You came!” Sam seemed almost as happy as she was to see him as she walked over. He stood up from the side of the pool and walked over to her, not even worrying about rolling his pant legs down. He was smiling and bouncing a little on his toes. Alice smiled at him, but still didn’t met his eye.  
  
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” Alice explained as she looked into the water. Mr. Jameson must have cleaned the pool at some point today, there were almost no dead bugs in the water.  
  
“Oh, I don’t either and it’s as hot as bath water anyway, but it’s a great view,” Sam waved for her to sit down as he sank back down and stuck his legs back into the water. He kicked his feet as he watched the sun set while Alice continued to stand there. Her anxiety was so high that she had no idea if she should sit down, or run as fast as she could back home. Then she thought about what was at home, which made her anxiety spike more.  
  
“The water isn’t that bad,” Sam laughed, looking up at her. That was enough to get her to sit down and unlace her shoes. She tugged off her dirty socks and rolled up her own pant legs quickly, turning away from Sam.  
  
“What happened?” Sam’s brow furrowed when he saw her scraped, cut, burned, and bruised legs, though she tried to hide them.  
  
“I…I fell off my bike.” Alice felt her face heat up as she quickly plunged her legs into the water. It stung a little, some of the injuries were fresh, but it felt nice as the desert night started to cool.  
  
“What did you fall into, a junk yard?” There was concern in Sam’s voice as he leaned over to peer at her legs, though they were distorted by the water.  
  
“There was just some glass on the road, that’s all.” Alice wanted to roll her pant legs down and leave. No one in town even questioned why she wore long sleeves and pants all the time. They all knew. None of them did anything, but they knew.  
  
There was silence as they both sat there. The back of the motel really did have a great view. It was on the very edge of the town bordering the desert so when you looked out past the fence, it was just cactus and sand until the horizon. Alice wished that she could paint the scene in front of them, the half sun and the colors exploding over the desert.  
  
“Do you carry that backpack everywhere?” Sam finally asked. However, unlike the other kids who asked, Sam was genuinely interested, not being cruel. That made her a little bolder.  
  
“Yeah, I used to carry my stuffed rabbit, but I couldn’t take that to school.” That wasn’t exactly true. She had tried to take her rabbit to school with her to begin with, but when the other children started to tease her, she took money out of her father’s wallet to buy a rabbit backpack and carried the stuffed animal in there.  
  
“What’s in it? Can I see?” Sam hesitated after he asked, seeing if he has upset her.  
  
Alice was starting to realize that he was just as desperate to have a friend as she was. She shrugged her backpack off and unzipped it. Inside was her Walkman, a gift that her father had gotten her when he finally remembered that she had a birthday last year, a few notebooks and coloring books, a drawing pad, pencils, a picture of her mother, and a stuffed white rabbit.  
  
“No books?” Sam asked as he looked through her treasures, holding each one carefully, setting it on a dry space on the cement between them.  
  
“I had to take them back to the library the other day and didn’t have time to find any more.” Alice snuck out to return the book so that there wouldn’t be late fees that she couldn’t pay, but had to get back before her father returned from his beer run so she didn’t have a chance to get new books.  
  
“What do you like to read?” Sam asked as he picked up the stuffed rabbit and smiled down at it, playing with the floppy ears.  
  
“Anything that I can get my hands on, really. There aren’t a lot of options at the local library, so I’ve been reading alphabetically.” It wasn’t like Alice had a lot of other things to fill her time, either. The only friends that she ever had were between the pages of a book. It was the only family she had as well.  
  
“Is the reason you have a white rabbit because of Through the Looking Glass? Just like Alice,” Sam said as he pet the fur on the stuffed animal before handing it back to her.  
  
“Dad said that’s why Mom named me Alice, because of that book,” she took out the folded picture and looked at the woman smiling back at her. “I don’t know if that’s true or if dad just said it because Through the Looking Glass is my favorite book.”  
  
“You didn’t know your mom?” Sam asked softly as he looked back down at the water.  
  
“No, she was killed during a mugging gone wrong. I don’t remember her, it was when I was little.” Her father had been sheriff at the time and it destroyed him. That was when he started drinking and while he kept his job for a couple more years, he was fired three years ago. He hadn’t worked since, and he drank a lot more now.  
  
“My mom was killed too when I was little.” Sam leaned over and looked down at the creased picture in Alice’s hands. “She is pretty.”  
  
“I wish I looked more like her,” Alice confessed. She was sure that if she was blonde, tall, with pale skin and rosy cheeks people would be nicer to her. People would invite her over for dinner and birthday parties, kids would want to be her friend, and she wouldn’t be so alone. Yet, she had black hair, dark blue eyes, and tan skin like her dad. She was starting to hate looking at herself in the mirror.  
  
“I think you look fine the way you are,” Sam smiled as he bumped her shoulder.  
  
“You’re the only one,” Alice muttered as she slipped the picture back into her backpack.  
  
Sam then grabbed her notebooks and after asking if it was okay, flipping through them, asking about some of the drawings. He especially liked the ones that were of the desert that she had done with colored pencils. Alice wasn’t sure if he really liked them or wanted to make her feel good, but she was smiling from ear to ear when he was done.  
  
“I’d love to go to art school at some point, really learn how to draw,” Alice admitted when she put everything back in her bag. She had never told anyone that before and it felt nice to say it aloud. No one ever left this town, but she was going to.  
  
“I want to go to college somewhere and have friends, maybe play soccer on a team.” Sam blushed when he finished at how excited he was. He really hadn’t said that aloud to anyone either. Last time he mentioned college, his father looked angry and Dean laughed. They expected him to be a hunter. Sam didn’t see why he couldn’t be both.  
  
“I think you’d be a great soccer player,” Alice said as they watched the sky slowly change color. Alice felt close to Sam, closer than she had felt to anyone as they sat there watching the sky. Before she thought about it, she reached out and grabbed onto Sam’s hand, holding it tight. When she realized what she had done, she moved to take it away, but Sam held onto it.  
  
“I dream of running away,” Alice said as they looked up and watched the sun slip under the horizon. “Just running into the desert until this town disappears behind me. I don’t even care what is over that horizon, I just know it has to be better than here. Anything would be better than here.”  
  
“I dream about running away sometimes too,” Sam confessed as they sat there hand in hand, the sky exploding red, blue, and purple as the sun set. “I talk about it with Sully, my imaginary friend.”  
  
“Where would you go?” Alice asked kicking her feet in the pool water. “What’s Sully like?”  
  
“Somewhere that I wouldn’t have to move around so much. Where I could stay and have friends, somewhere I’d have my own room and not what can just fit in the car,” Sam explained as the sun completely disappeared. “Sully is great! He’s my best friend and he is usually the one I spend time with when Dean and Dad are out.”  
  
“You live in the car?” Alice had never heard of three people living in a car. She always thought that was just something that was on television, like beach bums. How could three people live in a car?  
  
“Kind of, we travel a lot so we sleep in motels or even sometimes rent a house or stay with Bobby, but we can only keep what fits in the car. I’m sick of moving,” Sam kicked his foot violently, splashing water up on both of them. “I’m so sorry!”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Alice put everything back in her backpack, laughing, before she reached down and splashed some water up onto him. Sam looked shocked for a moment, and Alice worried that she had made him mad, but then he laughed and reached down to splash her. Soon they were laughing and screaming and drenched to their skin. They called a truce before one of them ended up in the pool, pushing wet hair out of their eyes.  
  
“Come on, you can use one of our towels to dry off.” Sam said as he got to his feet and offered her his hand. She took it and they walked hand in hand to the motel room at the end of the complex. Sam pulled out a key and opened the door.  
  
“Uh, wait here for a moment,” he said before disappearing into the room. She heard him moving some stuff around, but before she could get curious and peer through the door, Sam pulled it open. He waved her inside as he flicked hair out of his face.  
  
“Here,” Sam handed her a towel as he worked on drying his own hair. “Have you ever read The Outsiders?”  
  
“Nope, what’s that” Alice started drying her hair as her eyes traveled around the room. There were mirrors on the ceiling and the most disgusting green wallpaper she had ever seen. It was something from an acid trip. Alice’s eyes stopped on the edge of a duffle bag under the bed, with what looked like a large cross sticking out of it.  
  
“I just finished it,” Sam walked over and grabbed a purple book off the bedside table, “it’s about brothers who are trying to take care of one another and then the two gangs fight and…I’m not explaining this really well, but I think you’ll like it.”  
  
“Thank you, I’ll try and get through this tonight or tomorrow,” Alice smiled up at him.  
  
“Sounds good. Now, I hate to throw you out, but you probably should start heading home. Dad and Dean will be back soon and they won’t be happy if they know I let someone into the room,” Sam ran his hand through his hair and looked unhappy. “Do you want me to walk you home? I know that you have a bike, but it’s pretty late.”  
  
“Oh, I don’t have a bike, but I’ll be fine.” The thought of Sam seeing her house, or her father, made Alice feel sick to her stomach. There were empty beer cans all over the yard, no matter how many times she picked them up. The shutters were hanging crooked on the house, and the windows hadn’t been cleaned as long as Alice could remember. The inside was even worse.  
  
“I thought you said you got those injuries from falling off your bike.” Sam’s brow furrowed as he watched her flip through the pages of the book, not looking at him. “I want to make sure that you get home alright,”  
  
“There isn’t anything here I have to worry about except a stray coyote.” The thing that Alice feared most wasn’t in the shadows of the town. It was in the shadows of her living room, the television illuminating it’s sleeping form. She just hoped that he was still passed out on the couch and hadn’t realized that she left the house. If he had, there was nothing that Sam would be able to do to help her.  
  
“Alice,” Sam grabbed her hand to make her look at him, “there is something out there. Something worse than a coyote.”  
  
“Trust me,” Alice said as she held the book that he gave her close to her chest. “I know. If your Dad gets back and you aren’t here, he’s going to be mad. I’ll be fine, I promise.”  
  
_ *  
  
“You really haven’t changed all that much Sam,” Ace laughed almost two hours and three beers later. “You’re taller, that’s for sure. You grew into those chicken legs. However, you are still smart, funny, sweet, and so damn mysterious. What the hell are you doing in a biker bar in the middle of the desert?”  
  
“I could ask how the quiet, shy, smart girl that I asked to hang out by the pool when she wouldn’t meet my eye joined a biker gang.” Sam was leaning back now, a few buttons open on his shirt, sleeves rolled up, and smiling easily. His arm was thrown over the back of the booth, and she didn’t think she had ever seen someone more relaxed.  
  
Dean had left them not too long after Ace told him who she was, migrating over to the pool table where Juliette was waiting. They were now playing a game that was just a cover for the two of them to flirt mercilessly with each other. Ace did not doubt that Juliette would get him into bed before the night was done.  
  
Ace would be lying if she hadn’t thought about doing the same thing with Sam. Even if she didn’t have a little history with him, she would have picked him out in the bar to try and take home. It was just rare that men that looked like Sam wanted anything to do with a tattooed biker babe. Hell, for all she knew, he didn’t want anything to do with a tattooed biker babe. However, as he drank a bit more, his eyes were lingering on her a little longer.  
  
“I have a question,” Sam leaned forward and spin the beer bottle between his fingers.  
  
“I thought we were done playing that game,” Ace laughed and Sam gave her a look. “Alright, shoot. Figuratively, not literally.”  
  
“What ever happened to your dad?” Sam asked softly as he looked down at his beer bottle. Ace froze for a moment. It wasn’t a question that she expected him to ask, though it made sense given what happened last time that they were together. It had been a long time since she had thought about her father.  
  
“You know,” Ace leaned back in the chair, tipping the bottle back and finishing it, “the cops asked me the same thing. I think they thought I killed him, just couldn’t figure out where or how I hid the body, as small as I was.”  
  
“Someone killed him?” Sam looked surprised, his eyes coming up to look at her. Ace couldn’t read his expression, but he seemed distressed.  
  
“Don’t know, though I wouldn’t be surprised. No one liked him. I left town about a week after that and never looked back.” That was the truth. She had never been back to where she was born and raised. That was just how she wanted it. There was no one there she wanted to see and nothing that had sentimental value.  
  
“I guess I shouldn’t say I’m sorry, because I don’t think either of us are…so, I am at a bit of a loss as to what to say.” Sam confessed in a low voice. The thing was that he sounded sincere. He was upset for any pain that she had about it. He really was still the sweet kid that she had met, just all grown up.  
  
“What about John? Was there an accident?” Since they were on the topic of fathers, might as well get all the pain out in the open. It was true that she harbored a lot of resentment toward John for a while, but he had been the one that had got her out of the town. For a while she wondered what it would have been like if John had made a different decision.  
  
“Yeah, something like that,” Sam’s brow furrowed before he finished his beer. Ace’s curiosity was piqued, but it was obvious that John’s death was painful for Sam. She didn’t want a heart to heart, she kind of wanted to get him naked. Okay, it wasn’t a ‘kind of’ want.  
  
“I’m sorry for your loss, honestly. I know you three were close when you were a kid.” Ace felt like her words were hollow, but she didn’t know what else to say.  
  
“It was a while ago, but thank you,” Sam gave her a sad little smile. It hurt her a little to see him smile that way, especially since it seemed like an expression he was comfortable adopting. How often had he wore it?  
  
“You know what? Let’s not talk about this,” Ace shook her head and straightened. “Have you ever been on the back of a bike?”  
  
“What?” Sam looked up at her, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair.  
  
“Have you ever been on a motorcycle, Sam?” Ace said it slowly as she leaned forward. “It’s a simple question.”  
  
“Once or twice,” Sam said slowly, which made Ace wonder if he was lying. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was.  
  
“Let me take you for a ride,” Ace got to get feet and stretched, letting her tank top raise up so that he could see her midriff. “Dean’s obviously caught up with Juliette. I’ll give a lift back to your motel room.”  
  
“Dean’s probably going to want the room…” Sam said as he looked over to where his older brother was leaning against the pool table, the pretty Asian girl that Ace called Juliette leaning against his side. Dean was definitely going to need the room from the way Juliette was biting her lip.  
  
“Then he should have gotten there first,” Ace took Sam’s bottle out of his hands, finished the remnants, and set it down on the table. “Come on! It’s a great night for a ride.”  
  
“Are you drunk?” Sam asked, looking up at her, a smile showing that he still had his dimples. Somehow they made him insanely attractive and incredibly adorable all at once. It really was unfair.  
  
“Sam, I would never risk totaling my bike by driving drunk,” Ace said seriously, putting her hands on her hips. “Now come on, unless you’re scared.”  
  
Sam smiled at her, showing his dimples again, and shook his head. He slid out of the booth and got to his feet, now towering over her. He waved his hand for her to lead the way and she smiled up at him.  
  
“I didn’t know that you were a mountain climber, Ace.” Viper called as she shrugged into her leather jacket. He was still holding a grudge that Sam kicked him.  
  
“Jealousy looks lovely on you Viper. You should wear it more often,” Ace laughed as she kissed him on the cheek as she walked toward the bar with Sam behind her. “King, I’m going to borrow your extra helmet.”  
  
“Always use protection,” King called, followed by laughter that sounded like thunder.  
  
Sam shared a look with Dean before he followed Ace toward the door. They walked out of the bar and the cold air made her gasp a little. Sam walked out after her, shrugging on his jacket, and looking over the bikes that took up all the spaces in front of the bar.  
  
“Which one is yours?” He looked over the bikes, trying to pick out which one was Ace’s. There were a mixture of Harley’s and racing motorcycles in almost every color of the rainbow. Sam really didn’t know enough about them to understand any other difference than that.  
  
“Which one do you think?” Ace asked as she walked over to King’s Chopper and pulled the extra helmet off the back. “And where are you staying?”  
  
“The Camelot, its right down the road, about fifteen minutes away,” Sam said as Ace walked away from the giant black bike and down the row. He would be lying if he didn’t admit to himself that he was terrified the black bike was hers. He didn’t think she could handle it.  
  
“Are you coming or what, Winchester?” Ace called while Sam stood near the door.  
  
“This, this was not what I was expecting,” Sam admitted as he walked down the row to where Ace was throwing her leg over a purple Harley Davison. She started it up, flicking up the kickstand.  
  
“You expected me to have a crotch rocket? Come on Sam you should know me a bit better,” Ace laughed as she held out the helmet to him, “now get on the back of the bike.”  
  
Sam hesitated for a moment before he took the helmet, put it on, and then settled on the bike behind Ace. He tentatively put his hands on her hips, which made her laugh. She grabbed his hands and secured them around her waist before pointing out where he should put his feet. She revved the engine and Sam held on a little tighter before pulling out of the parking lot.  
  
Ace put on a little show for Sam, going faster than the speed limit. She could feel him more than hear him laughing as they took some of the curves in the road. In her opinion, the ride was over way too fast, as she pulled into the Camelot and went to the last room in the complex. She pulled the bike into a spot and kicked down the stand before turning the bike off.  
  
“So, how was it,” Ace asked over her shoulder once she had taken her helmet off. It wasn’t lost on her that Sam was still holding onto her and she could feel him breathing on her neck. She liked his warmth behind her, his arms around her, and she really hoped he would invite her inside.  
  
“That was such a rush,” Sam laughed as he tugged the helmet off.  
  
“You give me a couple of hours and I could show you what it feels like to really have a ride,” Ace slipped off the bike and stretched a little.  
  
“Night is still young,” Sam smiled as he handed her the helmet and walked over to the room. “Speaking of which, want another drink?”  
  
“What you got?” Ace followed him to the door and waited for him to open it.  
  
“Whiskey and day old coke,” Sam laughed as he opened the door.  
  
“My favorite,” Ace laughed too as she walked into the room. “Glad to see your choice of motels hasn’t gotten any better after all these years. At least there aren’t any mirrors on the ceiling.”  
  
“You don’t want to know how disappointed Dean was by that,” Sam laughed as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey and coke. He used the two plastic cups that came with the ice bucket and made two drinks.  
  
“You know what, I could see Dean wanting to watch himself. That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Ace laughed as she accepted the drink he handed her.  
  
“Do you?” Sam asked, his cheeks coloring a little afterwards and almost downing all of his drink. That made Ace smile, biting on the rim of the plastic cup.  
  
“Like watching myself?” Ace shrugged and took another sip. “It can be fun, depends on my mood and who I’m with. Everything is fun once. What about you?”  
  
“I’d rather watch the person I am with than myself,” Sam shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the chair. Ace sipped her drink as she looked around the room, noticing that the boys hadn’t unpacked at all. There were just two army green duffle bags on the floor. Some things really didn’t change. She didn’t take off her jacket because she wasn’t sure if Sam was going to want her to stay or not. The conversation about watching themselves have sex gave her a hint, but he also still seemed a little bashful. It made her want him more.  
  
“Should I be worried about Dean and your friend?” Sam asked her as he sat down on the edge of the table by the window and stretched out his legs.  
  
“Juliette? Not unless he is going to push himself on her, but she looked more than willing.” Ace leaned against the dresser. If it was Nightshade, she would be a little more worried. She got her name because she had poisoned her father who was abusive to her mother. It was a long-planned murder, since she grew the nightshade herself. Ace wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the other woman and didn’t think that she was going to stay with the Angels long. However, as long as Carmen kept breathing, Nightshade could do what she wished.  
  
“Well,” Ace sighed as she finished off her glass, “I guess I should head out.” Ace handed the plastic cup back to him, looking up at him. Sam reached out and took the cup, his fingers resting on top of hers as he straightened. However, he didn’t take the cup, but just stood there looking down at her.  
  
“Yeah, it’s getting late,” Sam’s voice was low and husky as he took a step forward. “I would hate for the rest of the gang to come looking for you.”  
  
“I’m a big girl, they know not to come looking for me,” Ace’s voice was low as well, moving forward so that she was chest to chest with Sam, still holding onto the cup. “They never know what they’ll find me doing.”  
  
“What might you be doing?” Sam’s voice was so low that he was almost whispering, his eyes dark, licking his lips as his eyes darted down to hers.  
  
“You,” Ace said simply.  
  
She wasn’t expecting the kiss to be as fierce as it was. Sam had always been so gentle and kind when they were kids. That was there, but it was underneath power and desire and need. It was more intoxicating than any alcohol she had ever tasted, and she was dared by Viper to eat the worm at the bottom of a bottle of tequila more than once.  
  
The plastic cup was tossed to the side and Sam cupped Ace’s face in both his hands, walking her back so that she was pinned between him and the wall. He wasn’t just kissing her, he was tasting her, memorizing her, devouring her.  
  
Ace might not have expected him to be aggressive, but she enjoyed it. However, it wasn’t her style to just sit back and let someone dominate her, in life or in the bedroom. She gave him a push and then jumped up so that her legs were locked around his waist. She put one hand in his hair, tugging his head back as she bit down on his lip. Her other hand worked at getting her boots off her feet.  
  
Sam reached down to help her, and pulled back a little in surprise when his fingers came across her knife. Ace gave him a wide and irresistible smile as she reached back and grabbed his gun. Sam laughed and little and took the knife and gun and put them on the dresser. Ace reached into her other boot and threw her other knife to join the pile along with the money from her bra strap.  
  
“Any other weapons?” Sam asked before he started kissing her neck, letting his teeth graze against her skin lightly. His free hand tugged off her boots, which had been digging painfully into his lower back.  
  
“You’ll just have to undress me and find out,” Ace said around a moan as she started undoing the buttons of his plaid shirt.  
  
Sam laughed a little and bit at her neck before kissing her again. Everything that was soft and hesitant about Sam before was gone. Now, he was just hot and passionate. His hands slipped underneath her tank top and tugged it over her head. Then his lips went to her collar bone and the tops of her breasts. Ace somehow worked his undershirt off between them and let her lips and teeth find his shoulders and neck, her hands trying to get his pants off while she was wrapped around him.  
  
It didn’t take a lot of time for Sam to get Ace’s bra off and fling it somewhere behind him. His hands slid down to her ass and lifted her up higher so that he could easily get his mouth on his breast. Ace stopped her contortionist act and let her head fall back against the wall, moaning out Sam’s name. He seemed to enjoy that as his tongue flicked and swirled over her nipples, switching between them, while his fingers dug into her ass.  
  
“For the love of Christ, tell me you have a condom,” Ace panted out when Sam came up to kiss her again. She thought she probably had one in her leather jacket, but wasn’t a hundred percent sure. She wasn’t exactly thinking right at that moment.  
  
“If I don’t, Dean will,” Sam said as he walked away from the wall, still holding onto Ace, and dropped her lightly onto one of the beds. He then walked over and started rummaging through a duffle bag on the floor. Ace stood up and undid the button on her jeans, kicking them onto the floor with most of her other clothes.  
  
“Hey,” Sam said as he looked over at her, wrapper in hand, flipping some hair out of his eyes, “Are you trying to take away all my fun?”  
  
“Sweetheart, I can assure that that is nowhere near the most fun you’re going to have tonight,” Ace laughed as he leaned over and kissed her stomach lightly. The light touch after how passionate he had been minutes before made her shiver a little, fingers carding through his hair. He leaned toward her touch, his lips softly kissing her hip bone, where a tattoo of a lily resided, then down to the waistband of her underwear.  
  
“If you want me to stop or not do anything…” Sam trailed off, finally seeming to think about what he was doing, his hazel eyes looking up at her.  
  
“Oh, you’ll know,” Ace leaned over and kissed him, tugging at his hair again to make him tilt his head up, causing Sam to moan. She smiled as she kissed him, tugging his hair again and getting another moan out of him.  
  
Sam kissed her back and slowly the kisses became heated again. His hands came up and gripped onto her hips, pushing Ace back down onto the bed. His fingers slid down her legs and back up, lightly touching her ankles and behind her knees, all the soft spots, as he kissed her stomach, his lips following the swirls and lines of the tattoos on her sides, crawling on top of her. Sam’s hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere, to the point that Ace had a hard time keeping track of where they were. It seemed that his mouth never left her skin, sometimes against her lips, then on her neck, then her breasts, his fingers scratching lightly down her sides or up her thighs. Holding her close and making it so that she felt as if he was enveloping her.  
  
Ace got her hands between them and finally undid his belt buckle, buttons, and then his zipper. Sam’s fingers dug into her hips as she slipped her hand into his jeans and palmed him through his boxers. He slid down her body, out of her reach, peppering the skin with kisses until he was kneeling at the end of the bed. Grabbing Ace behind the knees, he dragged her forward and sucked a bruise into her inner thigh. Using his teeth, Sam pulled down her underwear and then put his tongue against her clit.  
  
Ace had never given much thought to heaven or hell, her lifestyle let her know which one she would probably head to. However, the way that Sam used his tongue against her was as close to a religious experience as she had ever had. It wasn’t just that Sam was talented with this tongue, but the fact that his tongue wasn’t the only thing that was working. His hands were still moving, reaching up to tease her nipples and his eyes watching her reaction. When he slipped his tongue inside of her, she swore she started speaking in tongues.  
  
Sam hummed against her at her reaction and his tongue moved quickly, twisting and licking. Ace grabbed onto his hand as she got close, lacing their fingers and squeezing as she moaned out his name. He matched her pressure on his hand with his own, still moving his tongue as his other hand pressed her hips into the bed to keep her still. Ace grabbed onto his hair and tugged as she came, screaming out Sam’s name.  
  
Sam kissed her stomach again, feeling her heartbeat through her skin. While she came down from her high, he kicked off his jeans and boxers, crawling onto the bed again. He kept his weight off of her, his elbows on either side of her head, hands pushing her sweaty multicolored hair out of her face. Kissing her long and slow, letting her get her breath back.  
  
Ace didn’t like the space between them. She threw her legs around him and pulled him down on top of her, rolling her hips against him. Sam groaned at the friction against his cock, biting down on her bottom lip. Ace continued to roll her hips against him, her lips moving to suck marks into his neck and collarbone. Sam rolled to the side to put all his weight on one arm as his hand slid down and gripped onto Ace’s ass, pressing her up against him.  
  
Ace took the opportunity of him being off balance to roll them over so that she was straddling Sam, before kissing down his chest, spending a little time to flick her tongue over his nipples, before moving to suck a bruise into the skin right above his hip. Sam moaned low in his chest, his hand reaching out to grip into her hair, though not pull it, and the other gripping into the sheets.  
  
Sam’s hips bucked up when Ace flicked her tongue over the head of his cock, his breath coming out in little gasps. Ace looked up and watched him as she slowly sucked him into her mouth and worked her tongue over more of his shaft. She enjoyed every sound that she pulled out of him, the feeling of his hand tightening on her hair, though he didn’t try and make her move against her will. Ace let her nails gently scratch his inner thigh while her other hand fondled his balls just enough to tease him.  
  
She worked him right to the edge before pulling back and kissing up his body again. Sam hungrily kissed her, his tongue sliding into her mouth as his fingers stayed tangled in her hair. Ace kissed him back, ripping open the condom package and rolling it down onto Sam’s cock. Ace then positioned herself and after teasing him a little, slowly sank down onto him, causing them both to swear. Sam only paused for a moment before he was kissing her again, slower and softer, trying to ground her again.  
  
Ace didn’t want to be grounded. She pushed off of him, placing both of her hands on his chest before she started rocking her hips. Sam’s hands came up to her sides, and then her breasts, his eyes watching her, pupils dark and dilated. She let her head fall back at the feeling of him inside her, the feeling of his hands on her, the sound of him panting and moaning out her name. Her nails scratched down his chest as she started to move faster, heat building low in her stomach and spreading through her veins.  
  
Sam moved his hand up behind her neck and tilted her head forward as she got close to another orgasm, biting her lip and whimpering. His large hand cradled her skull as she leaned forward, pressing down hard on his chest, panting as she rocked her hips against his. Sam planted his feet up and thrust up into her, making her moan loudly. She moved one hand between her legs and rubbing her clit. In a matter of moments, Ace came again, almost collapsing on Sam at the power of it.  
  
He flipped them both over, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and started thrusting into her forcefully, giving her no time to come down before building again. Ace screamed, her nails digging into his back, her ankles locking around his waist once again. Sam was done being teased and moved quickly and mercilessly. However, he wasn’t getting deep enough, she wasn’t being loud enough for him. Sam sat up, still thrusting, grabbed onto her one leg and moved it so that it was flush against his chest, letting each thrust get deeper, hitting Ace’s g-spot. Her back arched and her nails dug into the comforter as Sam quickly sped up the pace again.  
  
If she thought his tongue was a religious experience, this had to be what it felt like for her soul to leave her body. He turned his head and kissed her ankle lightly as his free hand slid down and rubbed her clit. It didn’t take long before Ace came again, screaming out his name. That was too much for Sam. After a few more erratic thrusts, Sam came as well, moaning low in his throat. He gently puts Ace’s leg down on the bed, kissing her softly as he slid out of her. His hand came up and brushed the hair out of Ace’s face, sliding down to rest on the side of her neck, rubbing her jawline lightly. He pulled away finally, his forehead rest against hers.  
  
“Hey,” Ace said between pants as she tilted her head up to kiss him softly. She wasn’t sure why she said it, but it seemed like the right thing to say.  
  
“Hey,” Sam laughed as kissed her back.  
  
“That was a lot better than the last night we spent together,” she laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him slowly again.  
  
*  
  
_Alice was running faster than she ever had in her entire life, lungs burning and tears streaming down her face, she had to get to the motel. Her face burned, so did her arms, her knees bloodied from falling on the gravel by the side of the road. She had to get somewhere safe before he found her.  
  
She was banging on the door of room 502 before she really even thought about what she was doing. There was no one else in town that she could go to, no one else that would care. More than anything, she needed to feel safe right now and the only time she had felt that way was with Sam.  
  
“Sam, please open the door!” The door opened and Alice stumbled forward, into Sam. She was so relieved that she put her head on his shoulder and sobbed.  
  
“Alice, what happened?” Sam held onto her shoulders, pulling her away from him to take in her tear streaked face and the bruises that were already forming on her face and arms. She was crying too hard to answer him, she just wrapped her arms around him. Sam was confused and angry, but he hugged her back, trying to comfort her.  
  
“Sammy, she has to go,” Dean’s low and urgent voice made Alice try to pull herself together. He was laying on the bed, comic book in hand, a serious look on his face. She had figured Sam would be alone again. The fact that Dean was there, an older boy, made her nervous. Any man older than her would have made her nervous at that moment.  
  
“I have nowhere to go,” Alice said between hiccups. “Please, you have to let me in. Please!”  
  
“Samuel, who the hell is that?” Alice froze instantly as a man walked out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair. He didn’t look happy and Alice instinctively hid behind Sam. This had to be Sam and Dean’s father. The boys looked between Alice and their father, then they looked at each other.  
  
“Dad, this is Alice,” Sam was obviously nervous, looking between Alice and his father. To her surprise he moved between the two of them a little more. At that moment she thought she might have gone from a bad situation to a worse one. What if Sam’s father did to Sam what her father just did to her?  
  
“She…ah…she helped us out of a scrape the other day,” Dean added as he got off the bed, moving between Sam and his father. “She’s just a neighborhood kid.”  
  
“She’s bleeding,” Sam said, looking down at his hands, which had been around her, sticky with blood. “Alice, what happened?”  
  
Dean walked over and knelt down to look at Alice. That is when he started seeing the bruises on her face, the scars on her hands, the red marks peeking out from underneath her collar. This wasn’t the first time that someone had made Alice bleed and that made him clench his jaw.  
  
“Bring her in and close the door,” John said as he threw his towel away and walked over after Sam brought her into the room. Alice shied away from him, hiding behind Sam. John slowed his gait and looked her over, rubbing his jaw. Then he knelt down, not coming any closer, and met her eye.  
  
“My name is John. Sam says you’re bleeding. Do you mind if I take a look?” He asked giving her a little smile.  
  
Alice looked between Sam and Dean, both of them giving her a little nod. Then she walked over to John and turned around, lifting up the back of her shirt. She stared at the mint green carpet and silence descended on the room. Dean moved around so that he could see her back and she heard him gasp. Tears started to form in her eyes again.  
  
“How did this happen,” John asked quietly, his fingers very lightly brushing over the wound, which took up most of her back.  
  
“Dad has an interview tomorrow so I was ironing his shirt and pants while I was cooking,” Alice explained, trying not to sniffle too much, she got the feeling John Winchester did not appreciate being kept waiting by sobbing. “I went to take the noodles out and the iron fell over and burned a hole in his shirt and…and…”  
  
“I can see,” John said softly, anger making his hand shake. There was the perfect imprint of an iron on her back, blistering and bleeding from the heat. The fact that the pain hadn’t made her pass out was something of a miracle. Her whole body was a mixture of bruises, cuts, and burn marks, some fresh and others very old. Alice had been his punching bag for a long time.  
  
“Son of a bitch,” Dean muttered as he looked her over. Sam just held Alice’s hand and smiled weakly, trying to comfort her.  
  
“We should take her to the hospital,” John sighed as he got to his feet.  
  
“No,” Alice whipped around so fast that she whimpered in pain. “You can’t, they know him. They don’t do anything! They didn’t do anything when he did this!” Alice pointed to a large scar on her ribs that was caused when she was thrown into a lamp, “Or this!” the cigarette burns that got infected.  
  
“Why hasn’t anyone gone to the police?” Dean asked, looking away because it made him want to punch the wall. He didn’t think more violence would make Alice feel better or safe right now. No wonder she wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye.  
  
“He used to be sheriff and they are all still loyal to him,” Alice explained as she dashed a few tears from her eyes. “Everyone either hates him or pities him and they don’t do anything!”  
  
“Alright, alright,” John put his hand on her shoulder. “We can bandage you up. Just take a breath. Dean, get the first aid kit. Sam, get her up onto the sink counter and the shirt off.”  
  
“Yes, sir,” Both boys said in union before going off to do their tasks. Sam took Alice’s hand and led her across the room and helped her climb up onto the counter. He gave her a towel to cover herself up and then tugged the shirt off over her head.  
  
“Christ,” Dean muttered when he walked over, really seeing the extent of her injuries, old and new. John walked over taking it all in, saying nothing while Alice sniffled, and then rolled up his sleeves.  
  
“I’m going to try and be as gentle as possible, but this is going to hurt,” John admitted as he washed his hands and wet a washcloth.  
  
“Here,” Sam grabbed the backpack that Alice had brought with her and pulled out the white rabbit. “You can hold onto this and this.” Sam gave her his hand.  
  
John and Dean were quiet as they worked on her back, trying to ignore Alice’s hisses and whimpers. Sam kept up a running dialogue, talking about books that he had read and places he had been. Alice really wasn’t paying attention to what he said, but it was nice to have something to focus on even if she didn’t understand. Sam had a nice voice. She knew that she was probably hurting his hand as hard she was squeezing, but Sam never once complained.  
  
“Alright, she’s all set. Sam, give her some Advil and something to wear. This shirt is pretty much done,” John said as he washed his hands then placed Alice on the floor gently. She let Sam lead her into the room as he rummaged through his bag for a clean shirt. Finally, he handed her a deep green sweater that didn’t smell like it had been worn. Sam moved over and took the two pain pills and a glass of water from Dean. Alice hugged her rabbit tightly as she sat on the bed.  
  
“You aren’t going to make her go back there, are you?” Alice heard Dean ask his father in a low voice as Sam handed the two pills to her, also listening to the conversation.  
  
Alice didn’t move, waiting to hear what John would say. If he tried to take her back, Alice would run out into the desert. She would rather be eaten by a coyote or freeze to death than go back to that house. John looked over at her and Alice quickly looked away. She counted the heart beats until John sighed.  
  
“She can stay here tonight,” he said as he pulled on his boots and headed for the door. “I’ll figure something out.”  
  
_ *  
  
“They cover the scars, don’t they?” Sam asked softly as his finger traced the pattern of the rune tattoo on her ribs. His hand had gone to her back, which was covered with a large tree, and felt the remnants of the iron burn. It made him hold her a little tighter and kiss the top of her head. Ace’s head was against his chest, listening to his heart beat, her fingers tracing the lone tattoo on his chest.  
  
“It got to the point when I was sixteen that I saw them and it made me hate myself, hate the world. I needed to take my body back,” Ace explained as her fingers continued to move around the pattern. “So Dianne took me to get my first tattoo. She actually drew it for me.”  
  
“Which one is it?” Sam asked as his fingers paused against her rib and sat up a little. Ace sat up and let the bed sheet slip off of her as she showed him the tattoo that was down on her right hip bone. There had been a scar there from the time that her father had hit her and she fell through the glass coffee table. It was a V with what looked like sunrays coming off of it.  
  
Sam sat up and looked at the symbol, knowing that he had seen it before somewhere. It had supernatural origins. He was starting to wonder who this Dianne was, but he wasn’t sure how to ask Ace. Either she had just seen the symbol once and liked it, or she knew something about lore. What were the chances?  
  
“Dianne always said if I was ever in trouble, making this symbol with a bottle she gave me would bring me aid. She was a superstitious woman,” Ace laughs when she saw how interested Sam is. “Are you too?”  
  
“What?” Sam looked up and liked at her, obviously on a completely different train of thought.  
  
“Usually when I am naked Sam, men aren’t thinking about other things,” Ace laughed as she kissed his cheek before sliding off the bed. It was about four in the morning and the Angels had decided that they were leaving this town at dawn. It wasn’t a big deal if they left without her, she could just meet up with them at their next stop, but staying with Sam would be dangerous. She might develop feelings for him.  
  
“Hey, did you ever go to art school?” Sam asked as he watched Ace pull her hair up into a bun, her muscles making her tattoos dance on her body. Ace paused with her bra in her hand and turned to give him a look.  
  
“Does it look like I went to college?” She asked as threw her bra at him playfully. “How about you?”  
  
“Stanford, pre-law,” Sam said as he tossed the bra back, “and I didn’t want to assume anything. Maybe you were a tattoo artist or something.”  
  
“How does a Stanford lawyer end up in a biker bar in Arizona?” Ace slipped the bra on before locating and putting on her underwear. She could feel Sam’s eyes on her, assessing her, taking in all the tattoos, the scars from knife blades or falling from her bike, the few bullet holes. Not everything had been covered with her tattoos. Some scars she let stay as reminders to not make the same mistake twice.  
  
“I never went to law school, some family stuff came up. Now I travel around with Dean,” Sam explained as Ace kicked the various items of clothing still on the floor in search of her tank-top.  
  
“You hated the road so much as a kid, and here you are, basically a vagabond like me,” Ace finally found her top and tugged it on. Her jeans were over by the bed near Sam and she sat down next to him as she pulled them on. Sam’s fingers traced the large tree on her back, feeling the scar from the iron again, though he couldn’t see it. Again, the gentle touch sent a shiver down her spine.  
  
“Life on the road has its charms,” Sam said as he sat up and kissed her shoulder. “I get to meet interesting people.”  
  
That got a laugh out of Ace as she turned and looked at him. His hazel eyes were smiling, but they were open and honest. He didn’t want her to leave. And that made her not want to leave. It would be so easy to crawl back into the warm bed next to him. To let him hold her close and make her feel safe. To give her another mind blowing orgasm.  
  
“Interesting is one word for what I am, nicer than what most people say. It has more letters, that for sure,” Ace pulled on her boots, which Sam really had tossed halfway across the room, before leaning over and giving him a light kiss. “It almost makes me want to get back into bed and show you how much I appreciate it.”  
  
“You could stay,” Sam said softly as he tangled his fingers into her hair, tugging it out of its bun, and kissed her again. Sam had a way of kissing you that made you feel comfortable and safe, while at the same way out of control and excited. You lost yourself in the kiss. His other arm came up to wrap around her, pulling her against him. It was a tempting offer.  
  
“Why? So I can say goodbye to you in the morning instead?” Ace asked as she pushed hair out of his face. She knew that she would be lying if she said that this was any other hookup. It was almost painful to think about waking up next to Sam, she wanted it that badly. However, it didn’t change the fact that their paths were heading in opposite directions.  
  
“It would let me have some more time with you,” Sam’s hand rested against her neck, his thumb running along her jaw. “We never do seem to have a lot of time together.”  
  
“Makes it so that you can’t get tired of me,” Ace laughed as she kissed him again, biting his lip lightly before getting back to her feet. She went into the bathroom to collect herself and take care of what she needed to.  
  
As she washed her hands and looked herself over in the mirror, Ace got an idea. She pulled out her lipstick, which was almost done anyway, and started drawing on the mirror. In the end there was a rose on the mirror and her number scrawled underneath it along with a note saying to keep in touch in case they ended up in the same place at the same time again. She then put some of her winnings, which she had picked up with her knife, on the sink and told him to buy a copy of The Outsiders on her.  
  
Sam was sitting up in bed when she came back out of the bathroom, hair messy and sheets tangled around him. He looked like a god damn painting of a Greek god. Apollo, maybe. She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she would be able to draw it when she got a chance. While she never went to art school, she never stopped drawing. However, she didn’t think she could do it justice.  
  
“Who knows, maybe in twenty years we’ll run into each other again?” Sam asked again as he watched her walk across the room.  
  
“Oh, I hope it doesn’t take that long for me to get you into bed again. Stay golden, Ponyboy.” Ace gave him a wink before walking over and giving Sam one more kiss. She then picked up the two helmets off the bedside table and walked out into the frosty pre-dawn air. She never did seem to leave Sam during the day. She liked it better that way. It made it all seem like being with him was a dream. What was that saying? Everything was harsher in daylight?  
  
Ace could see her breath as she closed the door softly and looked out into the deep blue morning. The door of the black Impala parked next to her bike swung open and Juliette got out, adjusting her shirt as she did. The windows were fogged and it was obvious what had been going on in the back seat. She caught sight of Ace and the two girls smiled at each other as they walked over to their bikes.  
  
“You didn’t let him drive you here, but you had sex in the back seat?” Ace asked as she shrugged on her leather jacket, spotting Juliette’s motorcycle next to hers.  
  
“I always have an escape plan.” Juliette said as she raked her hand through her tangled hair. “And we planned on using the room before we found out it was occupied. I thought you’d take him back to our motel.”  
  
“And let the boys lay into him,” Ace laughed as she swung her leg over her bike. “Dean still breathing in there?”  
  
“Barely, but he is satisfied,” Juliette laughed as she got onto her bike, wincing a little. “How about yours?”  
  
“I always leave mine satisfied,” Ace smiled. Juliette held out her hand and they bumped fists before pulling on their helmets and turning on their bikes. They roared out of the parking lot in the predawn light to meet up with the rest of the Angels of Mercy.  
  
To go toward that horizon once again.  
  
*  
  
_Alice awoke the next morning to the sight of Dean and John packing quietly in the dark. Sam was still on the bed beside her, his hand clutching hers like how she had fallen asleep, but he was awake and watching them. When she moaned a little as she rolled over, Sam looked down at her to make sure that she was alright.  
  
“What’s going on?” Alice winced as she sat up and rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
“We’re leaving,” was all Sam said as he watched his father and brother move around the room. Dean had been sleeping on Alice’s other side the last time she woke up. There wasn’t much to clean up, just some clothes being shoved into duffle bags and toiletries being pulled out of the bathroom.  
  
“Mr. Jameson said that you can stay with him,” John said when he saw that Alice was awake. “I’m going to drop you off at the front office on our way out of town. Get up and use the bathroom. Sam, Dean, check her bandages.”  
  
“But-” John was already out of the door because Alice could form a second word. She did as she was told, gingerly getting off the bed and taking care of what she needed to in the bathroom. She came out and Dean set her down on the bed, both of the boys looking over the burn on her back. From the four letter words that came out of Dean’s mouth, she guessed it didn’t look any better. It didn’t feel any better.  
  
“It’s going to scar,” Sam said softly as he handed Dean a towel to clean up the burn and then wrap her up again.  
  
“Yeah, well, dudes dig scars. She’ll be fine,” Dean gave her a playful push on the shoulder, trying his best to cheer her up. He had no idea what to do with a sad, scared little girl when the thing haunting her was a human he could do nothing about. He had argued with his father for most of the morning about going over to Alice’s house and putting the fear of god into Alice’s father. All John said was that it was none of their business and he had handled it.  
  
Alice didn’t say anything as she tugged on one of Sam’s shirts since blood had gotten on the hoodie in the night. The boys got rid of all traces of themselves from the room as she clutched her backpack to her chest. They were leaving, but what about her? What was she going to do? Mr. Jameson was not the answer. She had to get out of town.  
  
“Dad, what about Alice,” Sam finally asked as John ushered them all out of the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
“Get in the car, Sam,” was all John said.  
  
“But Dad-”  
  
“Now Sam.” There was no room for argument in his voice. Sam gave Alice’s hand another squeeze before he climbed into the back seat, leaving the door open.  
  
Alice reached into her backpack and pulled out Sam’s book, hugging onto the little book fiercely. She knew that she should have given the book back right then, but she was hoping that John would take her with them. It was ridiculous, but it was the only hope that Alice had. She couldn’t live in this town any more. It was going to kill her.  
  
“Mr. Jameson said that you could stay with him,” John said again as he made sure that everything was in the car, including his children.  
  
“Sir, please,” Alice grabbed onto John’s coat in an attempt to make him stop, “take me with you. If I stay here he’s going to kill me.”  
  
To her surprise, instead of brushing her aside, he stopped and looked down at her. Tears were in her eyes and the fear was evident in every line of her face. John knelt down so that he was on level with her. His eyes took in her bruised face, her puffy red eyes, and her desperation. For a moment she thought that he might do it. That he might bundle her up in his arms and slide her into the back seat next to Sam. She had no idea where she would go or what she would do, but it would be away from here. In one glorious moment she saw her whole life spread out in front. She would have friends finally, Sam and Dean, and maybe more. Maybe even a family. She could see more than this small, dust-beaten town.  
  
“I can barely take care of my boys. I can’t take on another kid as well,” John gave her a sad smile, “but I promise that I will have someone look after you.”  
  
“Mr. Jameson will just send me back home when he thinks dad is sober! Nothing is going to change!” Fear and anger rose in Alice so quickly that it almost blinded her. “It’ll just be worse next time!”  
  
“Alice,” John put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. “I know that you are angry and scared, but this is the best I can do.”  
  
“It’s not good enough,” Alice snapped.  
  
“It rarely is,” John gave a heavy sigh as he got to his feet, “but it’s all I can do. Mr. Jameson.”  
  
“Alice, you should have come to me and not bothered these people,” Mr. Jameson scolded as he limped over. He was a former cop himself, who got injured during a robbery and played poker with her father regularly. She turned her eyes to John, but he was already getting into the car. Alice stood there, her back burning, her hands clenching Sam’s copy of The Outsiders, Mr. Jameson’s hand on her shoulder, as she watched the Impala pull out of the parking lot.  
  
Her father came to look for her two days later. Mr. Jameson talked to him, but in the end sent Alice home with him. He was sober for two days before he go black out drunk again. Alice hid in her room with the door locked, reading The Outsiders again and again. Wishing that she was dead.  
  
Two weeks after the Winchesters left town, Alice’s father disappeared. No one knew what had happened or where he had gone, but now she was an orphan with no family to speak of. When they started talking about sending her into the foster system, she stuffed her rabbit backpack with all her prized possessions - there weren’t many - and ran away. On the outskirts of town there was a woman on a bike, the leather jacket she wore had the queen of hearts stitched into it.  
  
“Where are you going kid?” She asked when Alice stopped running, trying to figure out if she could trust the woman. It’s not like she had a lot of choice. How long could Alice survive out in the desert by herself? She didn’t even know which way the closest town was. Anything was better than what she left.  
  
“Anywhere but here,” Alice finally said.  
  
“Fair enough, what’s your name?” The woman pushed her sunglasses up into her bright red hair and leaned on her handle bars as she looked down at Alice. Something about her face, her little smile, made Alice think that she was a friend. Someone that wanted to help.  
  
“Alice…Alice Christina Edwards,” she said her whole name because she was anxious.  
  
“Well Alice Christina Edwards, I’m Dianne Marie Mercy. Most people just call me The Queen of Hearts, or Queen.” She held out her hand to shake Alice’s. “I’m a friend of John Winchester. He said you might need a friend. Do you want to be my friend?”  
  
“What are his son’s names?” Alice asked, still not sure what to make of this woman with a pierced nose and tattooed fingers.  
  
“Smart and cautious girl, that’s good,” Dianne smiled down at her. “The oldest is Dean, smart mouth and even smarter on his feet, the youngest is Sam, smart as a whip and a heart of gold. Did I pass the test?”  
  
Alice smiled at that and nodded, she liked Dianne. John had said that he would find someone to take care of her. At first she thought that he was lying like all the other adults, shoving her over to Mr. Jameson, but apparently not. How long had Dianne been waiting on the edge of town for her to come down the road?  
  
“You want to hop on? I don’t know where I’m going, but I could use another ace up my sleeve.” Dianne explained as she held out a helmet to Alice. “And I have some friends who would love to meet you.”  
  
“Can we go somewhere that there is snow?” Alice asked while she looked at the helmet.  
  
“I think that can be arranged, though I’m telling you know it loses its appeal real quick,” Dianna slid her sunglasses down with one hand while still holding out the helmet to Alice.  
  
The little girl took the helmet, let Dianna help her put it on, hopped onto the back of the bike, and rode off into the horizon that she had watched for so long. She never looked back._


End file.
